1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus that uses a recyclable expendable item, an expendable item recycling apparatus for recycling an expendable item used in such an electronic apparatus, a recyclable expendable item used in such an electronic apparatus, a control method for controlling the electronic apparatus, a recycling method for recycling the expendable item, a program executed by a computer for controlling the electronic apparatus or the expendable item recycling apparatus, and a computer-readable medium storing such a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many cases, an apparatus includes a part that is arranged into a detachable unit that may be detached from the apparatus main body so that when such a unit breaks down, is worn out or expended, or reaches the end of its service life to thereby become unusable, the unit may be easily replaced with a new one by a user or a serviceperson so that operations of the apparatus as a whole may be maintained.
Such an arrangement is particularly useful in an apparatus that includes a component part that is less durable than other parts of the apparatus, and/or a member that is exchanged as is necessary or desired such as an expendable item that is worn out or expended with the operation of the apparatus to become unusable.
It is noted that a process cartridge used for image formation in an imaging apparatus such as an electrophotographic printer, a digital copier, or a digital multi-function printer corresponds to one specific example of the unit described above. Also, in such an imaging apparatus, components such as a photoconductor drum, an electrostatic unit, a developing unit, a toner bottle, a cleaning unit, an optical unit, a transfer unit, a paper feeding unit, and a fixing unit may be arranged into exchangeable units as well.
It is noted that some of the expendable items described above may be restored from an unusable state to a reusable state after undergoing a predetermined recycling process. For example, a process cartridge becomes unusable when toner corresponding to its content is consumed and depleted; however, after undergoing required inspection and cleaning processes, the toner may be refilled into the process cartridge so that it may be reused in the imaging apparatus.
In general, the recycling process as is described above is preferably performed by the manufacturer of the corresponding apparatus, or under conditions in which the manufacturer of the apparatus is able to adequately control the quality of the items being recycled. It is noted that expendable items recycled under such circumstances are referred to as “qualified recycled items”. By recycling expendable items under such circumstances, even recycled items for which quality control is generally conceived as difficult for achieving sufficient quality may be stably supplied in a state similar to that of a new item by properly excluding items that are not fit for recycling according to their used states, for example. It is noted that new expendable items that are either manufactured by the manufacturer of the corresponding apparatus or is manufactured under conditions in which the manufacturer of the apparatus is able to adequately control the quality of the newly manufactured expendable items are referred to as “genuine items”.
In recent years and continuing, “unqualified recycled items” are being produced by manufacturers that are unrelated to the manufacturer of the corresponding apparatus.
Generally, the manufacturer of the apparatus is unable to control the quality of such unqualified recycled items. Thereby, in a case where an unqualified recycled item is used, proper operation of the apparatus may not be ensured. Also, in such a case, even when the apparatus appears to be operating normally, defects may occur at detailed parts of the apparatus and problems may be prone to occur. For example, in the case of the imaging apparatus, the image quality may be degraded as a result of using such an unqualified recycled item. In turn, such a defect may lead to the degradation of the reliability of the apparatus itself.
Accordingly, the manufacturer of the apparatus seeks measures for promoting the use of a genuine item or a qualified recycled item in the corresponding apparatus.
In response to such a demand, techniques such as those described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-333800 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-318511 have been developed in the prior art. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-333800 discloses a technique in which identification information is stored in the expendable item beforehand, and an imaging apparatus using the expendable item determines whether the identification information stored in the expendable item matches with identification information stored in the apparatus beforehand to determine whether image formation may be performed. By enabling image formation only when the identification information stored in the expendable item corresponds to identification information of a genuine item, use of expendable items other than genuine items may be prevented.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-318511 discloses a technique involving encrypting cartridge ID number information and recycling process history information using predetermined key information and storing the encrypted information in a toner cartridge so that when the toner cartridge is connected to a printer, the stored information may be transmitted to a management center. At the management center, the received information is decoded using key information that is stored in association with the cartridge ID number information. If the information is successfully decoded, the key information is transmitted to the printer. Upon receiving the key information, the printer may read information from the memory of the toner cartridge, decode the information, and write the decoded information in an EEPROM to enable operation of the printer.
However, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-333800, once the identification information registered in the apparatus is analyzed and determined, the same identification information may easily be registered in an expendable item. In a specific example, a supplier of non-genuine items (i.e., new expendable items that do not correspond to genuine items) may register the same identification information in the non-genuine items, and in turn, genuine items and non-genuine items may become undistinguishable at the apparatus side.
Also, it is noted that the quality of a non-genuine item is not always inferior, and in some cases a non-genuine item may have the same quality as that of a genuine item. Thus, if operation of a corresponding apparatus is unconditionally disabled even when such a non-genuine item with adequate quality is used simply for the reason that the expendable item being used corresponds to a non-genuine item, this may lead to unnecessarily limiting the choices of the user of the apparatus, and may not be considered appropriate.
Further, it is noted that in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-333800, disclosures are not made pertaining to recycling of the units (items).
By using the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-318511, a warning signal may be issued when a user uses a toner cartridge other than that which is genuine or qualified.
However, according to this disclosed technique, the determination of whether the loaded toner cartridge corresponds to a genuine item or a qualified recycled item is made at the management center. Therefore, in a case where the printer is unable to establish communication with the management center at the time the toner cartridge is loaded, operation of the printer may not be enabled even when a toner cartridge corresponding to a genuine item or a qualified recycled item is loaded in the printer. Also, since communication with the management center has to be established every time a toner cartridge is loaded, in an environment such as the dialup environment where connection takes time, and connection fees are charged at a metered rate, an unnecessary burden may be imposed on the user.